A Message from the President of the Greater Mission Bend Area Council
The Board of the Greater Mission Bend Area Council has voted to support a bold new initiative to address the problems of urban blight facing our community.
OUR CHALLENGES
As neighborhoods grow older they face a predictable set of issues. If we consider once prosperous and desirable neighborhoods such as Sharpstown, Spring Branch, Bear Creek and others we can get a pretty good idea of where Mission Bend is headed. And it’s not a pretty picture. With all the respect in the world for the residents of, for example, Sharpstown, how many of you would really want to sell your house and relocate to Sharpstown? Really?
Last week on the news one of the TV channels did a feature about the crime in Sharpstown. It is brazen. People are being robbed in their homes in broad daylight. One elderly lady reported that the afternoon before – again in broad daylight – a car full of “men” drove down her street firing guns in the air. She was mortified. Scared out of her wits. I spoke with a Sheriff’s deputy who told me that basically that was members of a gang “claiming their turf”. Can’t you see a dog marking his turf using a fire hydrant? That, my friends is the reality of Sharpstown today. And, sadly, Mission Bend is now facing some of the same issues.
The aging of any neighborhood represents the unfolding of a number of events, including:
- Declining socioeconomic status of the neighborhood, as prosperous middle class families (of all races, I might add) move to newer neighborhoods
- Loss of a prosperous small business community. As average income drops there simply is not the disposable income to shop in any but the low-price stores. West Oaks Mall has taken a huge hit, as have all the strip malls in our area. Target has moved to Eldridge, realizing that our community could not support their store. I know, because I spoke with the manager, who was very honest with me.
- Increasing crime rate,what else can we say? Do you notice the gang graffiti that pops up all over the place? They are vying for turf. Does that scare you? Scares the heck out of me!
- Wednesday, September 20th a stash house was raided. About the 85 illegal immigrants were being held against their will in a house located within the GMBAC Boundaries. The house is located in the Wingate Subdivision, on the northern section of the Greater Mission Bend Area. Click to see the Channel 13 News Story
- Now, stop and consider this. There were 85 people being held hostage in that house. How many of you actually knew about that? Of course none of us did. Which leads to the question of what else is going on that you and I do not know about. Because stuff like this is making the news pretty regularly. What it tells me is that these are emphatically not isolated events. They have come to define life in our neighborhood, just as they have in Sharpstown. Again, does that bother you? It bothers me!
- Quote from Dianne Williams, resident and HOA Board Member in the Wingate. “This incident happened in Forestview, part of the Wingate HOA. As an HOA board member I went to the site yesterday morning and talked with the Channel 13 news crew. The stench of human excrement was very evident in the street. The victims had been held in this home since the weekend, but the water had never been turned on.
Our declining neighborhood is an open invitation to these evil people who exploit, abuse and take advantage of others. This is a clear and present danger to all of us who are residents here. We must win the battle to take back our neighborhoods.”
- Aging and deteriorating housing. Many houses are also being converted to rental property with owners who, in some cases, do not even live in our state, let alone our city. (See the above story for one example of what can happen with rental property.)
- Increasing number of apartments which generally decreases housing values.
- Declining property values.
Let’s just look at that last item, declining property values. In most areas of the Greater Mission Bend community property values are declining at an alarming rate. In many areas it is not uncommon for the values to have declined as much as 17% in just the last four years. Now, stop and give that some thought. If a home was previously valued at $100,000 that means that today the value has fallen to $83,000. If you are the owner of that house then over four years you are losing more than $4000 a year. And if you think that is bad, at least one subdivision, north of the Westpark Toll Road, the values have fallen 50% in four years! No, that is not a misprint. FIFTY PERCENT in only FOUR years. Does that get your attention? Per the Houston Association of Realtors, Houston area single family home sales in the $80,000 to $150,000 range were up 18.3% in August over the same period last year.
Now, here’s what is interesting about this whole deal. We of the GMBAC board have been looking at this whole mess for the better part of a year. We have cussed and discussed this situation. You know what amazes me? I’ve actually had people, well-meaning people, become furious with me for daring to bring these matters to light. And you know what? I’m probably guilty as charged, because if I were in a theater and saw a fire I would probably take action to get the people out of the theater.
The issues facing us can be summed up in one concept: Property Values. Every homeowner in this area is losing value in your home at an alarming rate. Even if the decline ceases, an unlikely event, the issue becomes, will they come back?
Property values did not come back in Sharpstown and they did not come back in Alief or most of Spring Branch. Remember, these neighborhoods started out as shiny new communities just like Mission Bend did. And urban decay is coming at us faster than some people seem to recognize.
Now, many residents over the past ten years have observed these events going on and they had a simple solution. Move! And each of you has that option, except of course you are going to take a financial bath when you try to sell your house. One of my neighbors did sell, but he lost over $25,000 in the process. Another individual I know lost almost $40,000 on the sale of his home. This is real. Mention Mission Bend to him and he just turns red in the face. And if he were alone that would be unfortunate, but this is the fate today of ANYONE who wants to sell and relocate. It’s your money, but at least you have been warned.
I’m going to stop here. It takes a bit of time for this reality to set in. Maybe this information makes you angry. Maybe it scares you. Or, maybe you are one of those individuals who shrugs and goes about his or her business as though this is just someone blowing smoke.
In my next message I will discuss the various plans and options that the board of the Greater Mission Bend Area Council has considered. But for now, just let this sink in. Send an email if you wish, or just meditate on our situation. I’ll share more in my next message.
Please visit www.gmbac.com to see details of most of the public events with our elected officials that were sponsored by the Greater Mission Bend Area Council for the people of Greater Mission Bend.
Sincerely,
Mike Martin – President
Greater Mission Bend Area Council